Adhesive earring construction



I. M. CRIGLER May 17, 1960 ADHESIVE EARRING CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Feb. 11, 1953 FIG.

FIG. 2

FIG.4

INVENT OR FIG. 5

ILENE M. CRIGLER ATTORNE I. M. CRIGLER May 17, 1960 ADHESIVE EARRINGCONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 11, 1953 FIG. 8

FlG..7

FIG. I2

ATTORNEY y 1960 l. M. CRIGLER 2,936,600

ADHESIVE EARRING CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 11, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.I5

INVENTOR ILENE M. CRIGLER ATTORNEY United States Patent ADHESIVE EARRINGCONSTRUCTION Ilene M. Crigler, Alexandria, Va.; John F. Crigler,administrator c.t.a. of said Ilene M. Crigler, deceased ApplicationFebruary 11, 1953, Serial No. 336,370

4 Claims. (Cl. 63-14) attaching means are notoriously lacking insecurity with which they attach to the ear, and that their constructionis usually complicated to a degree as to add sub stantially to the costof manufacturing earrings, they are also open to the further objectionsthat when attached to the ear they are unsightly if viewed from the rearof the head and they are moreover not sufficiently flexible as toconform to all sizes and shapes of the ear and car parts to which theyattach, with the result that an earring attaching means which issuitable to the ear of one person either does not fit or isuncomfortable when applied to the ear of another person. a

With the above in mind, a principal object of the present invention isthe provision of attaching means for earrings characterized by apractically unlimited security of attachment, inexpensive manufacture,non-rigid and in fact flexible construction enabling earrings to be Wornwith comfort, and an ability to conform to all shapes and contours ofears or car parts.

A more particular object of the invention is the provision of earringattaching means capable of attaching to the ear by adhesion.

A further object of the invention is the provision of earring attachingmeans which may be applied simply by pressing the same with light fingerpressure against the surface of the ear part to which it is desired toattach the earring.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of earringattaching means which when applied to the ear is substantially if notwholly concealed either by the structural parts of the ear or by theornament portion of the earring.

Another object of the invention is the provision of earring attachingmeans characterized by ready attachability to any one of numerous earparts, such as the floor of the concha, tragus, antitragus, and lobe, orto two of said ear parts jointly, such as the tragus and antitragus.

A further object of the invention is the provision of earring attachingmeans of a disposable nature; that is to say, ear attaching means whichcan be discarded after a single use Still another object of theinvention is the provision of earring attaching means of a characterwhich may be sold at low cost in quantity for one-time use, and to whichany desired ornament portion suiting the taste or costume 9f the wearermay be simply coupled.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of earringattaching means of a type which may be sold independently of theornament portion of the earring, and to which any one of a plurality ofornament portions may be connected as desired for a particular occasionof wear.

The above and other objects and advantages of earring attaching meansaccording to the invention will appear from the following detaileddescription thereof, taken with the accompanying drawings illustratingwithout limi tation various forms which earring attaching means asherein contemplated may take, in which Fig. 1 illustrates the manner ofapplication and use of one form of earring attaching means of thepresent invention and which is of the class adapted to attach to aposterior surface of the external ear such as the floor of the concha;

Fig. 2 is a section taken along line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view, with Fig. 4 being a section taken on line 4-4thereof, generally illustrating the constructional details and themanner in which :such attaching means is sold to and prepared forapplication by the user;

Figs. 5 and 6 are views similar to Figs. 3 and 4 illustrating a variantform of coupling tab by which the earring ornament portion may becoupled to the ear;

Figs. 7 and 8 are views corresponding generally to Figs. 1 and 2, whichillustrate the manner of application and use of another form of earringattaching means;

Fig. 9 is a separated view illustrating in greater detail the attachingmeans illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8;

Figs. 10, 11 and Figs. 12, 13 are plan and section views illustratingvariant forms of earring attaching means according to the invention andwhich are of a class primarily adapted toattach to a frontal surface orsurfaces of the ear, although the Figs. 10 and 11 form may be applied aswell to frontal and inner ear surfaces jointly;

Fig. 14 is a view similar to Figs. 1 and 7 specifically illustratingvarious ways of applying the Figs. 10 and 11 form of attaching means,but which is also representative of possible applications of the Figs.12 and 13 form;

Figs. 15, 16 and 17 illustrate the constructional details and the mannerof application and use of yet another form of earring attaching meansaccording to the invention and which attaches to a frontal surface orjointly to frontal and posterior or inner surfaces of the ear; and

Figs. 18, 19 and 20 are views corresponding to Figs, 15, 16 and 17,respectively, illustrating the attaching means according to said viewsadapted to be secured to the inner surfaces such as the posteriorsurfaces of the tragus and antitragus of the ear.

The present invention stems from my appreciation that the anatomy of thehuman ear is such as to provide nu-. merous surfaces to which earringattaching means made at least in part from adhesive tape material orequivalent may be attached with the same high security with whichadhesive tape as employed in surgical dressings, so-called Band-Aids,etc., secures to other surfaces of the human body. In furtherancethereof, 1 have devised numerous forms of earring attaching meansoperating on the adhesive tape principle and being thereby adapted to besecured by adhesion to an ear surface or a plurality of such surfaces,and which at the same time incorporate a coupling portion to which aseparate earring ornament portion having any one of a variety of shapes,designs and forms (including natural and artificial flowers) may besimply coupled in position to achieve at least the ornamental effectprovided by conventional earrings.

Referring to Figs. 1-4, illustrating one form of earring attaching meansaccording to this invention, and the manner of application and usethereof, such is of the type whose body or attaching portion is designedto attach to the generally horizontal surface or floor of the concha ofthe ear, in position such that its coupling portion extends forwardlyand outwardly through the intertragic notch, ie the U-shaped openingseparating the tragus and anti-tragus of the external ear, and to whicha separate earring ornament portion may be hooked or otherwise securedto said attaching portion and hence to the ear.

To this end, the body portion designated is fashioned from adhesive tapematerial as the term is defined broadly hereinafter, and illustrativelycomprises an elongated piece or strip of such material having roundedend edges, the rounded ends providing what may be termed wings 10a, 10b.Being constructed from adhesive tape material, as above, the undersurface of the body portion 10 carries throughout its full area anadhesive substance 12 (Fig. 3), for which the material of the bodyportion provides a backing, and which may be any of the adhesivesubstances employed in adhesive tape manufacture. The coupling portiondesignated 14 of said attaching means illustratively comprises atab-like formation fashioned integrally with said body portion but whosecorresponding under surface is preferably devoid of adhesive. As seen inFig. 3, the coupling portion 14 depends from the body portion 10 in themanner of the vertical leg of a T, whereby the body and couplingportions together have general T-shape, and its lower end is providedwith a small opening 16 shown to be circular but which may have othershapes or may comprise a simple slit. As sold to the user, the adhesivesurface 12 is protected by a covering 18, usually made of an open-meshfabric, which is adapted to be stripped off the body portion immediatelyprior to applying the attaching means to the ear. The dimensions of theaforesaid body and coupling portions 10, 14 are not unduly criticalexcept that the body portion shall have length and width correspondinggenerally to the floor of the concha, whereby it may seat on samewithout puckering and also without the end wing 10b extending into themeatus or external opening of the external auditory canal. The width ofthe coupling portion 14 should not be substantially greater than theaverage width of the intertragic notch although in this connection itshould be noted that, since both the body and coupling portions are madefrom flexible material, some oversizing is not objectionable as saidparts may fold or otherwise conform themselves to the ear surfaces orparts on which they seat or through which they extend. The length of thetab-like coupling portion 14 is such that its free end extends forwardlyof the frontal surfaces of the tragus and anti-tragus a sufficientdistance that it may be grasped by the fingers and tautened, thus toexpose and ready the hole 16 for the reception of the ornament portionor coupling element thereof.

The term adhesive tape material as employed in the foregoing todesignate the material from which at least the attaching portion 10 isfashioned is intended to embrace the various types of adhesive tapematerials wherein the backing for the adhesive is made from fabric orfibrous material, and also the various adhesive tape materials whosebacking is made from plastic and whose securing face is either coatedwith adhesive or is inher: ently tacky. In case of the backing beingmade of fabric or fibrous material, it is preferred that the fabric beof expansible or elasticized construction and, when it is fashioned fromplastic, that such have a degree of stretch corresponding to thatcharacterizing elasticized fabric. The ability of the backing materialto stretch is particularly of advantage in connection with the tabportion 14, as it enables the tab to stretch when tautened as above,which in turn facilitates the coupling of the ornamental portionthereto.

The manner of applying and using earring attaching means of theinvention will be apparent from a consideration of Figs. 1 and 2. Itwill be understood that prior to applying the attaching means asaforesaid to the ear, the mesh covering 18 is stripped from the adhesivesurface 12. Thereupon the attaching means may be held with its adhesivesurface 12 facing downwardly, by grasping the coupling tab 14 betweenthe thumb and forefinger, and inserted into the concha C of the ear, inposition such that the tab portion 14 is aligned with the upper open endof the intertragic notch N. In a final operation, the body attachingportion 10 is pressed downwardly and smoothed against the floor of theconcha by pressure of the fore-finger, whereupon it secures itself byadhesion to the floor surface in the manner best illustrated in Fig. 2.Due to the positioning of the tab portion 14 in alignment with theintertragic notch N, such downward movement results in said tab portionprojecting forwardly through the lower end of said notch, thus to exposethe opening 16. Any desired ornament portion generally designated 20 andwhich is illustratively provided with a coupling hook 21 may now becoupled to the tab 14, by the simple operation of passing the hook 21through the eye or opening 16. In the event the ornament portionconsists of a natural or artificial flower, the stem thereof may bethreaded through the tab opening 16, thus to dispose the bloom incovering relation to the concha opening and adjacent car parts.

Earring attaching means as described has numerous ad vantages, amongwhich may be noted inexpensive manufacture, ease of attachment, and ahigh degree of security approaching, if not equalling, the security withwhich conventional adhesive tape secures itself to the human body.

'Equally important is the fact that since earring attaching meansaccording to the invention is inherently soft and flexible, such may beworn with comfort by all persons regardless of individual ear shapingand contour. Another feature of advantage is that when secured to thefloor of the concha as illustrated, the attaching means is substantiallyconcealed both by the ear parts disposed forwardly thereof and by theornament portion 20. Such concealment may of course be heightenedby'fashioning the attaching'means from flesh-colored adhesive tapematerial. Yet another advantage is that in use the tab portion 14 isfree to rest directly on the lower-end edge of the intertragic notch Nand transmits thereto an appreciable fraction of the weight of theornament portion 20, which is a desirable feature in the case of saidornament portion having substantial weight. When it is desired to removethe earring, it is only necessary to uncouple the ornament portion 20from the attaching means and thereupon strip same from the ear,whereupon it may be discarded or otherwise disposed of. Instead of beingstripped from the ear and disposed of immediately following each wearingperiod, the attaching means may of course be retained in the ear for arepeat use thereof, or for interchange of ornament portion.

Referring to the form of earring attaching means illustrated in Figs. 5and 6, such corresponds to the previously described form in allessential respects, differing therefrom only in that the coupling tab14', rather than being formed integral with the body or attachingportion 10, is formed separately therefrom and secured to the outer faceof the body portion as by cementing. Said coupling tab 14 according tothe variant form may be fashioned from stretchable material such asrubber. The rubber coupling tab 14' is of advantage when it is desiredto use an ornament portion of a type to be worn close to the ear frontalsurfaces. Thus, by a proper choice of the length of the coupling tab14', which requires that it is pulled outwardly and stretched somewhatto effect coupling the ornament portion thereto, the rubber tabfunctions to draw the ornament portion snugly against the frontalsurfaces of the tragus T and antitragus AT, thus adding to the securitywith which said ornament portion is attached to the ear.

According to the invention, it is also possible to construct thecoupling portion of the attaching means from means other than fabric orrubber. For example, referri ng to Figs 7, 8 and 9, the coup ing portionis proids 'by a len h of ne Wire twiste o tself. ter mediate its ends soas to form a twisted length portion 22 terminating in a coupling eye 24extending laterally from one longitudinal edge of the body portion 26,to which latter the wire ends 28a, 28b are secured. Such securement maybe simply effected by fashioning the body portion 26 from two plies 26a,2612 (Fig. 8) of adhesive tape material, of which the upper ply 26aadhesively secures itself to the under play 26b. By inserting the wireends 28a, 28b between said plies prior to their securement as aforesaid,said ends are effectively secured upon the plies being adhesivelyassociated. If the wire is made from metal, it may be sheathed with afabric covering or with a soft plastic, thus to obviate any discomfortoccasioned by contact of metal wire with the skin. Or the wire may befashioned wholly from plastic material extruded to wire form, asconventional in making a plastic ties.

By reference to Figs. 7 and 8, it will be seen that the body orattaching portion 26 as shown in Fig. 9 may be adhesively secured to thefloor of the concha, as with the prior forms, with the twisted lengthportion 22 of the wire coupling means extendinging through thei-ntertragic notch so as to dispose the coupling eye 24 forwardly oroutwardly of the adjacent frontal surfaces of the tragus and antitragus.Due to the flexibility of the wire making up said coupling means, theeye 24 may be bent or tightened by finger pressure to obtain the bestholding characteristics. The twisted length portion 22 may also be bentto seat on the curved end edge of the intertragic notch, thus to securethe advan-.

tage of such a disposition as stated above.

For certain types of ornament portions, particularly where the latterhave the form of a natural or artificial flower, it is desirable toincorporate a plane backing therefor, so that the flower-type ornamentportion will not have any substantial direct contact with the earsurfaces. Such a backing may be provided as by a disc 30 of transparentmaterial provided with a central aperture 32 enabling same to be slippedover the coupling eye 24 and positioned in the manner illustrated inFigs. 7 and 8, thus to provide a backing for the flower-type ornamentportion whose stem is adapted to lock the backing disc 30 in place.

Whereas the prior described forms of earring attaching means are of thetype which adhesively secure to the inner or posterior ear surfaces asrepresented by the floor of the concha, Figs. 10-14 illustrates suchattaching means designed primarily for .securement to the outer earsurfaces, such as the frontal surfaces of the tragus and antitragus andof the ear lobe. Referring first to the Figs. 10 and 11 form, suchcomprises a body or attaching portion 34 made from adhesive tapematerial as defined in the foregoing, and which is provided withcoupling means shown to be in the nature of an eye or loop 36(preferably non-adhesive on its under face) struck out from the materialof said body portion as by cutting through the same with short-lengthslits 36a, 361), but which may be provided in other ways, such as bycementing the ends of a short strip of rubber to the outer face of saidbody portion. As seen in Fig. 14, the body portion may be appliedjointly against the frontal surfaces of the tragus and antitragus and inbridging relation to the intertragic notch. Or, as indicated in dottedlines, the body portion may be adhesively attached to the frontalsurface of the ear lobe. Additionally, attaching means as illustrated inFigs. 10 and 11 may be applied by bending the same to U-form andpressing or pinching it over the more or less vertical edge of thetragus T, so that one arm or leg of the U secures to the frontalsurface, the other arm secures to the inner surface thereof, and the eye36 projects rearwardly into the concha opening. The last describeddisposition of the attaching means is illustrated in the upper dottedline showing in Fig. 14. Regardless of the par- 6 ticular surface orsurfaces to which applied, the ornament portion may be coupled to theattaching means by passing its hook or other coupling element includinga flower stem through the coupling eye 36.

The same mode of application is possible with the further form ofearring attaching means illustrated in Figs, 12 and 13, This latter formincorporates a hook type, rather than the eye form of coupling portionas previously described. Such hook type coupling means may be providedby bending a length of wire so that it provides an upwardly directedhook 38 intermediate its ends 38a, 38b, which latter are secured to thebody or attaching portion 40 as by disposing said ends between theadhesive tape plies 40a, 40b, from which said body be understood thatthe ornament portion to be coupled.

thereto will be provided with an eye or equivalent, rather than with thehook-type coupling element 21 as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

The advantages of an earring attaching means as previously described,together with some additional ad vantages to be explained, are achievedby the still further form of attaching means as illustrated in Figs.15-17. In this latter form, the body portion of the attaching means,rather than being made from a single piece of adhesive material, may befashioned from two sections 44, 46 of such material coupled together inlaterally spaced relation by coupling means which also provide thecoupling portion to which the ornament portion of the earring attachesor threads through. As illustrated, said coupling means preferably takesthe form of two spaced lengths of spring wire 48, 49 whose ends 48a, 48band 49a, 49b are secured to the sections 44, 46, respectively. Saidwires are coiled intermediate their ends to the form of eyes 50, 52contained in the Space between the sections and being slightly offsetfrom the plane of said sections in the direction of the outer ornon-adhesive surfaces thereof. Securement of the Wire ends 43a, 48b and49a, 49b to the sections of the body or attaching portion may be simplyeffected as by fashioning the sections from plies 44a, 44b and 46a, 46bof adhesive tape material and sandwiching said wire ends therebetweenprior to the plies being adhesively secured to one another. Instead offorming the eyes 50, 52 from two lengths of wire as aforesaid, they maybe formed from a single length of wire, or from a continuous wire loop,bent or fashioned so as to provide two spaced wires extending betweenthe sections 44, 46. A single protective covering 54 dimensioned so asto cover the adhesive surfaces of both sections may be included toprotect such surfaces prior to applying the attaching means to the ear.

T he sectional type attaching means with the ornament coupling portionthereof disposed between the body form-. ing sections thereof may beapplied in numerous ways. Referring to Fig. 17, such may be applied tothe external surface of the ear lobe, or it may be applied to thefrontal surfaces of the tragus and antitragus and in bridging relationto the intertragic notch, as in Fig. 14. It may also be applied byfolding the sections so that they extend in parallel relation and withtheir adhesive surfaces facing one another, and thereupon pressing orpinching them together over the edge of the tragus or over the underedge of the ear lobe, with the result that one section secures to thefrontal or anterior surface of the ear part and the companion sectionattaches to the generally parallel posterior or inner surface of saidear part. When pinched over the car parts as aforesaid, the couplingeyes 50, 52 project beyond said edge in position such that the earringornament portion may be simply and effectively coupled therewith. If theposition of the spaced eyes 50, 52 is not the most advantageous, saideyes may be simply bent as required for best holding results. Theaforesaid eye arrangement is ideally suited to the securement of thestems of natural orartificial flowers used as the ornament portion, notonly because the spacing of the eyes gives stabilizing effect, but alsobecause the eyes may be simply adjusted by squeezing to the size of aparticular flower stem being secured.

It "is also possible to adapt the sectional type earring attaching meansillustrated in Figs. 15-17 so that the same may be secured to posterioror inner surfaces of the ear. Referring to Figs. 18, 19 and 20, theearring attaching means therein illustrated corresponds to such means asillustrated inFigs. 15 and 16, with the exception that the coupling eyes56, 58 are disposed laterally forwardly of the adhesive faces of thesections 60, 62 making up the body or attaching portion thereof. Thus,when the sections 60, 62 are dimensioned so as to seat on the posteriorsurfaces of the tragus and antitragus, as illustrated in Fig. 20, thecoupling eyes 56, 58 project forwardly through the intertragic notch andare thus in a good position to receive the stern of a flower-type orequivalent ornament portion.

Without further analysis, it will be seen that all of the illustratedforms of earring attaching means according to the present inventionachieve the desirable objectives therefor outlined in the foregoing.Being fashioned either wholly or in great part from adhesive tapematerial, earring attaching means as herein contemplated may not only beinexpensively manufactured, but also they possess a high security ofattachment, they are so flexible and shape-conforming that they may beworn without any discomfort, and they are universal to all types andshapes of the individual ear. Another advantage of the present earringattaching means is that they are substantially entirely concealed (Figs.19 and Figs. 1820 forms) and when not concealed are so unobtrusivelypositioned (Figs. -17 forms) that they are not at all unsightly whenproperly applied. That is to say, attaching means according to thelatter forms are effectively if not wholly masked by the ornamentportion. It is also a feature of the invention that the body portions ofthe attaching means of the Figs. 1017 forms may be contoured and coloredso as to blend into or match the ornament portion. For example, if theornament portion employed is a flower, said body portions may be coloredgreen and shaped as a leaf or a pair of leaves of the particularflower.In this Way, the attaching means, to the small extent that it may beviewable from directly in front of the ear, is rendered not onlyunobtrusive but also ornamental.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructionswithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

- Iclaim:

' 1. Single-use disposable earring attaching means comprising anelongated body portion of flexible material having an adhesive undersurface so as to be attachable by adhesion to an ear surface anddetachable from said surface by stripping therefrom, coupling means forcoupling a selected earring-ornament portion to said body portioncomprising means separate from said body portion and being devoid ofadhesive and being affixed to andextending from approximately the middleof said body portion and forming connector-eye means for detachablyreceiving complementary connector-pin means carried by saidearring-ornament portion, said ornamentcoupling means being constructedand arranged as to enable the earring-ornament portion to be connected'to said body portion following attachment of the latter to said earsurface as aforesaid, said body portion being shaped and dimensioned soas to extend substantially coextensive with and thereby to seat on thefloor of the concha of the ear, and said coupling means projecting fromthe body portion and having width and length as to extend through andterminate a slight distance forwardly of the intertragic notch openingto said concha.

2. Single-use disposable earring attaching means comprising an elongatedbody portion of flexible material having an adhesive under surface so asto be attachable by adhesion to an ear surface and detachable from saidsurface by stripping therefrom, coupling means for coupling a selectedearring-ornament portion to said body portion comprising means separatefrom said body portion and being devoid of adhesive and being aflixed toand extending from approximately the middle of said body portion andforming connector-eye means for detachably receiving complementaryconnector-pin'means carried by said earring-ornament portion, saidornament coupling means being constructed and arranged as. to

enable the earring-ornament portion to be connected to said body portionfollowing attachment of the latter to said ear surface as aforesaid,said body portion being shaped and dimensioned so as to extendsubstantially coextensive with and thereby to seat on the floor of theconcha of the ear, and said coupling means .COID'. prises anon-adhesively surfaced tab-like formation extending laterally from saidbody portion and being dimensioned to project forwardly through theintertragic notch opening into the concha, said coupling portion beingprovided at its projecting end with an opening through which a part ofsaid ornament portion may be passed.

3. Single-use disposable earring attaching means substantially as setforth in claim 2, wherein said tab-like formation comprises a strip ofstretchable material aifixed to said body portion.

4. Single-use disposable earring attaching means substantially as setforth in claim 1, wherein said coupling means extends from alongitudinal edge of said body portion and comprises an eye fashionedfrom a length of spring wire twisted intermediate its ends to form aclosed loop and whose ends extend and are affixed to said body portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS198,703 Smith Dec. 25, 1877 261,208 Crosman July 18, 1882 1,309,492Swett July 8, 1919 1,347,861 La Batt July 27, 1920 1,431,875 Cohen Oct.10, 1922 1,435,519 Gautier Nov. 14, 1922 1,840,409 Randall Jan. 12, 19322,119,793 Plageman June 7, 1938 2,364,872 Rich Dec. 12, 1944 2,383,448Christy Aug. 28, 1945 2,511,170 McCann. June 13, 1950

